Cleveland Public Theatre, Ohio City Incorporated and Ward 3 Councilman Joe Cimperman to present “Station Hope: A Block Party With a Purpose, an Arts Event for the People and a Celebration of Hope” on Saturday, April 26, 2014

“Station Hope” is a free, one night only multi arts event that is designed to celebrate the accomplishments and triumphs of the Underground Railroad, the storied history of St. John’s Church as well as the contemporary struggles for freedom and justice.

“Station Hope” is a cooperative effort and partnership between St. John’s Church, The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, North Waters Partners, Friends of St. John’s Church. Restore Cleveland Hope, the Cozad Bates House, Cuyahoga Metroplitan Housing Authority, The City of Cleveland, Cleveland State University as well as over 25 participating arts groups and individuals from the Northeast Ohio region.

Based on Cleveland Public Theatre’s past success producing large-scale public performance events, including Arts In August, pARTy in the Gordon Square and CPT’s annual Pandemonium event, Station Hope offers audiences of all ages a rich, engaging experience created by local professional and community-based artists across many disciplines.

The site of this Cleveland Public Theatre event is none other than one of the most historically significant sites in Greater Cleveland, St. John’s Episcopal Church, or as it was known during the times of the Underground Railroad, “Station Hope”.

During the evening, audience members will be invited to tour through St. John’s sanctuary, parish hall and intricate basements in order to view an array of short performances of dance, theater, storytelling and music. Visual art displays and interactive art activities permeate the event while choral performances set the atmosphere of the outdoor spaces in and around the church.

Station Hope is a free, one-night-only event, Saturday April 26, 2014, 6pm-10pm.About St. John’s Episcopal Church

St. John's Episcopal Church is located at 2600 Church Street in the Ohio City neighborhood of Cleveland. St. John's is the oldest consecrated building in Cuyahoga County. As a church active in the Underground Railroad, St. John’s was a last stop for fleeing slaves seeking their freedom across the waters of Lake Erie and the church’s steeple acted as a beacon of freedom.

About Cleveland Public Theatre

CPT’s mission is to nurture compassion and raise consciousness through ground-breaking performance and life-changing education programs. CPT is a leader in developing new theatre, offering more original plays than all the professional theatres in the region combined. CPT supports local artists throughout the creation process with four different development series and full productions. CPT’s educational programs serve over 500 youth in public housing, teens from low-income families, and homeless adults in transition. CPT believes in long-term programs that offer the tools of original theatre to engage participants in sharing their own stories and dreams.

Participating Artists

Station Hope features site-specific visual art, storytelling, music and performance installations, submitted through an open request for proposals. See below for list of participating groups and individual artist participants. **Note: List subject to change.

Station Hope will take place on Saturday, April 26th from 6:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church and surrounding property, located at 2600 Church Street, Cleveland, OH 44113. Station Hope is a free event and open to people of all ages.

Performances will take place on a rotating basis throughout the St. John’s Episcopal Church and adjoining buildings, as well as the outdoor spaces surrounding the church.

**Note: Due to the historic construction of the building, some interior spaces may not be accessible to people with limited mobility.

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Mark Horning was blessed as a child to have parents who appreciated good music and the performing arts. Some of his happiest memories were when they attended the Columbus, Ohio Art Gallery Chamber Music programs on Sundays. Piano lessons gave him a finer appreciation of the difficulty of the performances. Over the years he has learned to play dulcimer, write poetry and compose his own music with lyrics. His martial arts training as a young man gave him a deep appreciation of the dance genre which he still has. He has a deep affection for the performing arts and hope that this love shows through in his writings.